Tuesday, 17 March 2015

Simple tips for keeping the house clean

When it comes to cleaning, many of us are guilty of an “all or nothing” mentality. You see a photo of your dream house on Pinterest or hear your in-laws are coming to stay, and, in response, you go into a cleaning frenzy. You clean and clean until the place is sparkling. And, boy, does it feel good when it’s done! Queen of your sparkling kingdom, you then relax (after all, that’s some serious work you’ve just done).
A few days, then a week, maybe two, maybe a month passes… and you realise you haven’t done any serious cleaning since your spree. You no longer feel so great. It happens to us all. But wouldn’t it be great to if you could always keep your house sparkling? Here are some tips to help you do just that..

Moderation

As with most things, moderation and consistency are the key to keeping your house sparkling. A cleaning binge can be great, but it can also leave you worn out and feeling like you never want to see a broom ever again. By capping and regulating your cleaning time, you can tick off everything you need to do to live in a house that’s always spotless.

Time Is Everything

The main reason you can’t rely on cleaning frenzies to sustain a sparkling house is that they simply take too long. How often do you find yourself with the block of three or four hours it takes to clean an entire house? Not often. But, a block of 15-30 minutes is manageable. So why not spread your workload out over the week?

Keep It Consistent

Draw up a list of your chores, then allocate some to each day until all your chores are scheduled to be completed over a week in one 15-30 minute block per day. You may want to work room by room or by chore type. Your cleaning routine might look something like this:
Mopping Monday: Sweep, mop, and vacuum.Tops Tuesday: Dust and wipe all surfaces.Washing Wednesday: Change linen, and wash, hang, dry, iron, and fold laundry.Tasty Thursday: Clean out the fridge and pantry, wipe down the shelves with disinfectant, and make a list of things you need to buy.Filing Friday: Sort out all your bills, mail, and anything you might have collected through the week. File what’s necessary and discard the rest.Stovetop Saturday: Clean the stovetop, oven, grill, and microwave.Scenic Sunday: Clean all windows and mirrors, and dust and straighten photo frames.

Stick to your cleaning routine religiously. If you miss a day, try to catch up the next. The idea is to work away at your tasks incrementally, in a way that is manageable.

Bring in Help When Needed

That said, no matter how consistent you are, there will always be times when your housework falls by the wayside or your home goes from sparkling to sullied over night (big parties will do this every time). Suddenly, all your chores are flashing “overdue” at once. There’s so much to do that you don’t even know where to start.
This is where most people fall out of routine. They either are constantly in cleaning catch-up mode or simply get disheartened by the mountain of things they’ve got to do and give up. Moments like this call for a total do-it-all-in-one-go blitz so that you can quickly reestablish a routine. Make it less daunting by calling for help. Cleaning service companies, such as Absolute Domestics , offer full housekeeping and spring-cleaning services, which cover the array of surfaces, nooks, and cupboards you’d rather not think about. That way, you can take your kids or your post-party hangover out for the day while someone else sets things in order.Whatever approach you take, if you want to get your house sparkling clean and keep it that way, the same rules apply: work with your available time by breaking it into small manageable portions, stay consistent, and acknowledge when you could use a hand.